Originally published 10:04 p.m., November 3, 2009Updated 12:18 a.m., November 4, 2009

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Though the results are only semi-official and as many as 4,000 ballots are expected to be counted tonight, the celebrations are already in full swing in downtown Santa Barbara. As it stands, Helene Schneider will be the next mayor; Grant House, Harwood “Bendy” White, Michael Self, and Frank Hotchkiss will take their seats on the City Council; and the building height initiative Measure B failed, although the less controversial Measures C, D, and E will likely pass. Here are some of the party highlights, which will be updated as more reports come in.

Paul Wellman

Frank Hotchkiss gets a handshake from Dale Fransisco

At Dargan’s, where a number of Democrats are hanging out, the party is bumping with the pool hall area packed to the brim, according to reporter Chris Meagher, who spotted Helene Schneider and perhaps council candidate Dianne Channing. Meagher came upon Bendy White while he was hugging his mother-in-law and sporting his “I Voted” sticker.

“The voters really connected with the priorities that many of us had talked about - balancing the budget being the top one,” said White, who’s currently sitting pretty in second place for the four council seats. “I have many years of experience in city government and I know how to maintain staff morale : My years on the Planning Commission have taught me how to work with colleagues, staff, and the public.” White also spoke of working collaboratively with the rest of the City Council. “All I can do is what the whole does,” he said. “It is not ‘my’ agenda, it’s ‘our’ agenda.”

Paul Wellman

Michael Self celebrating at Left at Albuquerque

Meagher then went to Joe’s Cafe, where mayoral candidate Dale Francisco was supposed to be hanging out. But, he reports, “Joe’s is dead. No election party, that’s for sure.” Meagher did see Nick Welsh interviewing Francisco across the street, so stay tuned for some comments from the runner-up soon.

UPDATE, 10:40 p.m.: Chris Meagher called in to say that Grant House just arrived to a hero’s welcome at the Paradise Cafe on Anacapa Street, where there’s a strong gathering of such “No on Measure B” advocates as Mickey Flacks, Alex Pujo, and members of PUEBLO. Meagher reports that House was draped in a red tablecloth while everyone cheered with “synchronized clapping and all.” Meagher spoke with No on Measure B consultant Brian Robinson, who said, “It looks like we won.”

UPDATE, 11 p.m.: Back at Dargan’s, Meagher called in with a report on the speeches now underway. After thanking her campaign staffers, her broad base of support, PUEBLO, and her mom, mayor-to-be Helene Schneider said, “Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we figure out the next major things.”

Grant House, who won a return to his seat on the City Council, also spoke. “Santa Barbara cannot be bought,” he said. “We’re going to keep our environmental consciousness. We’re going to make sure in the next four years that no one is left out. Everyone in Santa Barbara is included.”

Said Bendy White, who’s currently the second top vote-getter in the race for City Council, “I’m so honored to be part of this next council.”

At the end of the speeches, “We Are the Champions” was playing “quite loudly,” according to Meagher and, according to a bartender contacted by reporter Ethan Stewart, the heavily Democrat crowd was “tipping quite well.”

Also according to Stewart, Schneider’s mom, who flew in from New York, was watching her daughter on live television and gushed, “That’s my kid. She’s so photogenic. She’s got that Hillary Clinton look.”

UPDATE, 12:15 a.m.: Although updates to the election results were expected sometime around 11 p.m., the City of Santa Barbara has not yet published new numbers, so the “semi-official results” remain as reported at 8:45 p.m.: Helene Schneider as mayor; Grant House, Bendy White, Michael Self, and Frank Hotchkiss as city councilmembers; and Measure B goes down, though less controversial Measures C, D, and E pass.

Meanwhile, back on the party circuit, Nick Welsh just downloaded a ton of reporting from the evening. Focusing on the influence that the big Randy Van Wolfswinkel bucks and his Preserve Our Santa Barbara ad campaign had on the voters, political consultant Mary Rose explained, “In the end the money backfired. They went a little too far with the negative campaigning - they went a lot too far.”

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Belen Seara of activist group PUEBLO explained that her organization had about 90 people walking precincts and knocking on doors last weekend, targeting about 3,000 voters on behalf of Helene Schneider and Grant House while also spreading an emphatically anti-Measure B message. Specifically, Seara said they focused on infrequent voters, those who vote on occasion, but not religiously. In addition, she said PUEBLO worked to bring out young, Latino voters, people of color, and those who live downtown or in Westside and Eastside precincts. The challenge, she said, was transportation. The drop-off center on the Eastside was Cleveland School, sufficiently far enough from many Eastside voters to be daunting. As a result, City College became more a focal point for many of those voters. Likewise, many of the Westside voters PUEBLO targeted found the Holy Cross Church on the Mesa a distant drop-off point. Seara noted that the letter City Hall sent out to many voters notifying them of signature problems was written only in English, and that many of the voters spoke only Spanish.

Of the big money and negative campaigning, incumbent, top council vote-getter, and recipient of plenty of attack ads Grant House explained, “This is a repudiation of that kind of campaigning : Santa Barbarans show they know how to disagree civilly. That’s what I take away from this.”

House was one of the few council candidates to actively campaign against Measure B. On that initiative, which appears to have failed, “I don’t think it was so much ‘the’ issue that people said it was,” said House. “There are so many more pressing issues, important issues, like what’s going to happen with our young people.”

Welsh stopped mayoral candidate and city councilmember Dale Francisco for an interview on a corner of State Street. “Helene ran a traditional partisan campaign,” said Francisco. “A lot of people vote the party line. There’s a very well-established political machine in this town. Even though I entered the race three months late, I showed you I could come close to beating that machine. A lot of people are concerned about the same things I am. Now we’re going to have two new councilmembers who have those beliefs : It’s clear there’s been a political sea change in this town.”

Francisco stressed he didn’t take a cent from Van Wolfswinkel and said that the Santa Barbara-born developer who lives in Texas did not run a very effective campaign.

As to Measure B, which Francisco supported, the mayoral candidate explained that the No on B crowd “ran a very effective campaign, a very deceptive campaign. The whole idea that Cottage couldn’t be rebuilt is just silly.”

“Within three months I came close to becoming mayor,” said Francisco, who now wants to focus on fixing the fiscal mess and increasing the number of cops. “I have two people I supported who share my beliefs. It’s going to be a whole new council.”

One of those people is Frank Hotchkiss, who’s currently fourth in the results. He spent his night at Left at Albuquerque, where he delivered a victory speech. “This is just the beginning,” said Hotchkiss. “I think the country is turning the corner.”

Michael Self, currently the third placer finisher in the council race, was also at the Mexican restaurant on State Street. She explained, “There has been such a machine in Santa Barbara. It’s nice to see that now the citizens have a voice on the council, not just ideologues.” Although now presumably a soon-to-be-member of the City Council, Self kept her anti-City Hall campaign rhetoric alive, explaining, “We’re tired of being treated like third graders and told to go sit down.”

As to Measure B, Self said, “Well, they lied. I consider it a dishonorable win.” Jim Westby, who masterminded the conservative slate of Self, Hotchkiss, and Cathie McCammon as well as the Yes on B campaign, agreed that the Cottage Hospital ads were quite effective in fighting the initiative.

Back on the left-leaning victory lap at Dargan’s, the new mayor Helene Schneider stood on a chair and proclaimed to much applause, “$700,000 worth of negative campaigning didn’t work in Santa Barbara.” She continued, “It looks like the council will be very different, which is fine. I hope we can find common ground.”

Comments

It will be interesting after all the smoke clears, that the candidates elected that were so critical of government, will be able to offer actual solutions while they are in office, instead of providing just a "no" vote on everything. I know exactly why some people felt like they were treated like a third grader, because they acted like one, and i have facts to prove it. The same one who is critical of lies, boasts herself as "a businesswomen who met payroll" and in other articles as a business owner and CFO" Truth be told she started a house cleaning business with a bunch of maids, and went on to do the books for her husband's contractor business, and sold eye glasses; even though very commendable work, hardly the scale of responsibility of an entire City.

What's done is done.. and I welcome and say congrats to all the winners. Hopefully, differences can be set aside and start anew. I hope to see on the Councils website, a monthly progress report so that we all can see a more transparent government. Roughly 90, 000 people live here yet only 18,000 voted...so if this council or former council is not the right choice.. you people of Santa Barbara have only yourselves to blame. Political Apathy 101.

It's a great day in America and Santa Barbara and the people have spoken! These people will lead us to a new future where racial and gender differences will be set aside, (we will all become one race and one gender) understanding will prevail, and optimism will replace cynicism. Oh how nice it will be when the average person will be able to afford a home and enjoy Santa Barbara the way it used to be and these visionaries will be the ones to lead us down the Yellow Brick Road.

KA - You are not in Kansas anymore. In fact I have no clue where you are because it certainly bears no relationship to reality in Santa Barbara. Schneider and Blum are indistinguishable for the most part at a time with this town needs to start doing something different about a host of problems - this group isn't about to bring about that change. Schneider was too gutless to take a position on B which doesn't bode well for her leadership abilities and lets not forget those who remain on the council and helped get us into this mess, fiscal and otherwise.

"Seara noted that the letter City Hall sent out to many voters notifying them of signature problems was written only in English, and that many of the voters spoke only Spanish."

In order to vote, one must certify when registering that one is a US citizen. In order to become a citizen, you have to demonstrate a passable knowledge of English. PUEBLO believes illegal aliens should have driver's licenses and legal residency. Perhaps PUEBLO believes they should be able to vote too.

To talk of a "machine" running the city is ridiculous. All political parties have a machine. That's the standard way to operate. The Democrat machine is effective because it shares certain ideals and goals with a majority of the local voters. The Republicans have a machine too and always have. It's just broken now because they are allowing the lunatic fringe to run their party.

PUEBLO's endorsed candidates, Schneider and House, along with NO on Measure B won last night indicating that PUEBLO is aligned with the voters of Santa Barbara - a community that has shown again and again to be a relatively progressive one. PUEBLO mobilizes an under representative constituency - low-income workers - people who work in construction, hospitality (hotels, restaurants),agriculture, domestic jobs, etc. It is a strong organization that has a commitment to improve the lives of workers in Santa Barbara County! In this election it was 3 for 3!!!

The grumpy old Yes on B folks got their comeuppance-and I've said this all along: if it was good enough for Pearl Chase it's good enough for us! Building height limits are already IN the City Charter. If it ain't broke, don't fix it--and no more "blue lines" or bulging bulb-outs either, please!

To co-opt another blogger's observation: "The reason "B" did not pass is that it's a lame idea. It would encourage the exact opposite of what Pearl worked so hard to preserve in our city - proper planning."

What does need fixing is our ordinances-i.e., a thorough revision of "inclusionary housing" (aka affordable housing), attention to proper setbacks, parking requirements and general architectural review. Let's see if the new crop of politicians can uphold the basics that Pearl had a hand in crafting.

On a final note, if we ever see another project like Casa de las Granadas (the affordable housing project near the Coffee Cat opposite Library), we should protest en masse. There is NO reason affordable housing has to be located in prime downtown Santa Barbara. NO ONE is that entitled. It's time for common sense, a return to sanity and gee-how about rehabbing some existing buildings on the Westside, the Mesa, Milpas or Hollister corridors, and making them affordable?

Hmmm-buildings that are near transit lines, within walking or biking distance: hmmm.

And how about tackling some REAL issues, like JOBS and gang grafitti???

While watching a KEYT segment last night, asking locals if the expensive TV ads influenced their vote (most of whom said "no") my answer would have been a resounding "YES". Yes because the negative-- oftentimes hostile-- TV and mail ads that Dale Francisco, Steve Cushman and their supporters put into our community gave many a sense of how they "play in the sandbox." Rather than *spending* forth what they had to offer as potential city leaders, they channeled thousands and thousands of dollars into negative advertising-- typically the route of the incapable and insecure. I soon became a supporter of the ads' targets, reading more about them online, what they stood for, and appreciating the integrity of their campaigns.

To Mayor Elect Schneider: Perhaps a "thank you" card to Randall Van Wolfswinkel should be first on your agenda?

What happened in New Jersey and Virginia is a warning shot across the bow. Yes, I know Santa Barbara likes to pride itself on being progressive. The truth is Santa Barbara always lags behind the real world (we're just too stuck-up to see it.) But more and more We-The-People-who work, who pay taxes and shun handouts-are sending a message. WE DO NOT APPROVE of the mess the State of California-laughing stock of the nation-has become.

binky, it was hardly a 5 way race - the two bottom candidates got barely 1% of the vote. And I'd bet that if Cushman and Francisco could have gotten their act together and forged an alliance with only one of them up for mayor then that candidate would have won. Oh, well. Too bad that SEIU Schneider won (just watch more of the taxpayers money sucked into union coffers), but the balance of the Council, which started shifting away from your beloved far left, has shifted again, by two more seats, toward a more centrist balance. Ah. balance. Now there's a word one rarely hears in Santa Barbara.

Justice: My comment was pure sarcasm. I'm ridiculing the idea that somehow this election is going to make a difference in people's lives and also I'm pointing out how typically establishment these people are.

Maximum asked Binky the following question: "Where were YOU in fourth grade (or did they teach basic math in your school?)"

That's a trick question. Binky recently posted that they have been driving (at least in S.B.) since the late '60's so that suggests Binky may have been born around 1953 and as such, Binky would have been in fourth grade circa 1963. The reason this could be a trick question is because we've all heard the phrase "If you remember the '60's you were not there" so if Binky tells us where he/she was, then they will be accused of not being there, and if they say they can't remember, then they will be accused of being evasive so the poor binkster is in a no-win situation no matter how they answer.

Tabatha - CA-10 has only changed hands because of redistricting. Using your logic, we could say that CA-23 (Capps) is not a Dem district because it used to be Republican if we leave out the fact that the geography is completely different. However, that's simply not logical.

It wasn't a Republican sweep on Tuesday but any non-bias person would say it was an overall win for Republicans. A big win? Certainly not, but a win nonetheless.

When you look closely at P.U.E.B.L.O. you see that they have deep connections with both SEIU and ACORN. I can easily imagine them as just pawns for a broader national push. And, of course, ACORN has NEVER been involved in illegal activities. Right? It should not surprise anyone that P.U.E.B.L.O. would want to register criminals to make them eligible to vote, insist on multi-lingual correspondence, or even get them drivers licenses.

@ Bajades

It was a huge win. Attempts by party hacks, both national and those above, to state otherwise is not spin...it's beautiful to the cause. It was entertaining to watch California's gift to the nation, Pelosi, in her Alice in Wonderland moment. Kind of like the Captain of the Titanic, "whereas before we had only one boat in the water, we now have twenty boats."

And I was speaking to a friend yesterday and we got into an "in-depth" debate on the true meaning of these crushing defeats. His position was standard DNC talking points (probably because he is a director in the DNC). He stated that the elections were local and therefore not a verdict on Obama and that his influence was inconsequential. OK...I gave him that. He then went on to say that Creeds lost because he had not followed the Obama model and had not brought the Dear Leader in early enough for a touch of the magic to wear off. This is where you progressives fall off the track. Which one is it?

So I pointed out that Obama visited NJ 5 times and VA 4 times to press his claim that those States needed to elect his candidates so that his national agenda could be supported. And if the DNC talking points are now that those visits were inconsequential and the issues were not national but local then it follows that Obama is, himself, inconsequential to any event that is at the State level. The lunch ended. Daniel Petry